Fueled by Gaming, Virtual Reality Adoption Will Also Drive Sales of 52
Million Accessory Devices during the Next 5 Years

BOULDER, Colo. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — January 18, 2016 —
While virtual reality (VR) is not a new technology in concept and can
trace its origins back to the 1950s, the past few years have witnessed a
golden era of investment and product development in the sector, and
highly-capable head-mounted displays (HMDs) are now on the verge of
commercial deployment. VR offerings from Oculus, HTC, and Sony took the
recent CES show by storm and are some of the most hotly anticipated new
consumer technology products of 2016. Hardware and content companies
alike are banking on strong consumer interest in VR over the next
several years, driven in large part by gaming applications.

According to a recent report from
Tractica,
cumulative worldwide sales of VR head-mounted displays will reach 200.1
million units during the period from 2015 through 2020. By the end of
that period, HMD shipments are forecast to reach 76.7 million units
annually. The market intelligence firm also forecasts that an additional
52.2 million VR accessory devices will be shipped during the same
timeframe, with such products including gamepads and VR-specific
controllers, hand tracking devices, locomotion devices, and VR vests and
suits.

“The second coming of virtual reality is upon us, and industry
participants are keen to ensure that products are fine-tuned prior to
release in order to avoid a disappointment in this high-potential new
category,” says principal analyst Craig Foster. “Content is being slowly
pushed out and we are seeing a number of games being developed
especially for VR. Some publishers have embraced the new medium is its
entirety, while others are watching the space cautiously to determine
the appropriate level of investment.”

Tractica’s report,
“Virtual
Reality for Consumer Markets”, provides a comprehensive analysis of
the market dynamics, technology issues, and competitive landscape for
consumer VR hardware and content. The report features global market
forecasts for annual unit shipments and associated revenue during the
period from 2014 through 2020. An Executive Summary of the report is
available for free download on the firm’s
website.